Mr Akkhara, the 53-year-old younger brother of Deputy Prime Minister Thamanat Prompow, presided over the opening of the ‘MSD Near You’ project at Nawamintharacha Park (Khum Nam Bang Maruan) in Srisoonthron.
Phuket Vice Governor Suwit Phansengiam delivered a welcoming address, while local elderly residents gathered ahead of the event to offer condolences on the passing of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, the Queen Mother.
The minister said the initiative is designed to “reduce expenses, generate income and restart life” by delivering targeted assistance to people of all ages.
The project focuses on four main areas: reducing household expenses for vulnerable families, creating local income opportunities, addressing personal debt through the MSDHS Restart scheme, and strengthening the skills of social workers to better support communities, explained an official report of the event.
Mr Akkhara said the ministry’s work “covers people from birth to death”, and that each provincial visit includes listening directly to residents’ concerns. He highlighted several recently approved welfare measures, including:
* A B600 monthly child allowance for children from birth to 6 years old, approved by Cabinet as a New Year’s support measure for families.
* An increase in the elderly living allowance to B1,000 per month.
* Revised criteria to help more unregistered or previously unqualified disabled people access benefits, with disability allowance increasing from B800 to B1,000 per month once registered.
* Expanded support for elderly career development to promote long-term wellbeing.
“Our ministry will not leave anyone behind,” Mr Akkhara said. “We will continue delivering tangible support to improve quality of life for everyone.”
During the event, assistance was provided to more than 160 vulnerable households in Phuket. This included child support for 30 low-income families, emergency aid for 30 households, and 100 relief bags distributed to vulnerable residents.
Seven agencies also set up booths offering services such as disability card registration, autism-support products, community food stalls and elderly handicraft demonstrations, with collaboration across government, private sector and civil society groups.
The official report of the event reported that Phuket has a registered population of 429,583, including more than 32% children and youth, nearly 15% elderly and over 7,000 people with disabilities.
The report also marked that Mr Akkhara’s visit was framed as a push to strengthen social welfare delivery at the local level and encourage closer cooperation among provincial authorities and community partners for long-term social development.